Eh, big deal. He's got to stand there for an hour and a half. He's going to shift around some, and occasionally it will look goofy. Did anyone looks at Romney's feet for the whole debate? The only reason people are looking at Obama's feet is because he appears (at first blush, according to everything I'm reading*) to have lost. If he'd cleaned Romney's clock no one would have bothered to look.

* That's what I'm seeing here and there. My wife and I recorded the debate, but I don't know if we'll have the stomach to watch.

I believe that it was bagoh who stated the problem some time ago.... how do you get rid of the incompetent black guy?

Everybody wants him to succeed for a larger purpose. Nobody wants to show him disrespect (see Althouse).

But, you can't just keep going down the tubes with the guy and ignore his incompetence.

I've been through it several times in my career. The quota hire fails despite the best intentions of the company.

What can you do? At some point, you've got to (as Eastwood said) let him go.

I've seen this done in a variety of ways. One of the most extreme was when my CEO closed down the entire business unit commanded by the quota hire, so that it would not appear that he was actually firing the guy.

"But, you can't just keep going down the tubes with the guy and ignore his incompetence."

You can if you're Detroit. The evidence is all around me.

But perhaps Detroit's role these days is to be a cautionary tale for those inclined to make the mistake of ignoring the problem. There is no shame in replacing an incompetent black politician (you may also substitute the word "corrupt" in many cases) with a competent white one - or a competent black one. Either replacement would be a vast improvement. Why does that so rarely seem to be a viable option (in terms of cities, specifically)?

Anecdotal, but at TRW, the other engineers just stopped giving the AA hire any work. The guy kept his job and his paycheck, but you can't allow shoddy work when it comes to space flight. That would be way more expensive.

He was standing like someone who wanted out of there. There is video from behind the podium, Romney is shifting a bit, but more like an athlete who wants to win.

Obama figured he'd get a pass, like he has with everything else. If I remember the McCain debates seemed like a tie so the press went big for Obama. Unfortunately for Obama Romney is a much better competitor than McCain.

I've seen a few highlights now. What struck me was how thin Obama's neck looked. In fact his face looked a little bit like an anorexic's face. (Think Callista Flockhart.) They did get Obama a better fitting shirt (in the neck) than I've seen him wearing lately, but it just accentuated his thinness. The man looks beat.

The stance itself wasn't as revealing as the shifting, the frowning, the actual grimacing, the head shaking, and the looks of disbelief, Zero wore at different times last night.

At one point he stood there, with his head down,shaking his head "no" in either total denial, or stunned disbelief, that someone would actually challenge the boy-king. It showed someone who has never been confronted, is intellectually weak, and doesn;t live in the real world. As several commentators from the right noted, the press has not once, pressed or questioned this pretender on any statement for 6 years, and he was not prepared to defend himself, or his ideas.

I loved at the one point, Zero actually asked to just move on to a new subject. Has that ever happened ata presidential debate before? I mean, I've seen it in the second grade, but never on live tv. CHoom, asking Lerher, "Can't we move on." It was as if Zero hasn;t been president for the past 3 year, and this time, he really is going to work hard.

You'd have to be full retard to vote for Zero after that showing. I expect quite a few to reveal that fact.(about 45%)

Am I the outlier here at Althouse? a lone island in a roiling sea of such sexist responses from our commenters and posters. Someone who sees the bitter frothiness of such blatantly, implicit denigrations?

Naaaaa! Pile it on.

No one deserves more derision and our vitriol for such a wasted four years than Obama. In second place for our rebukes are folks like Ann who actually voted for him.

What were they thinking? Or perhaps what were you Obama voters hoping wasn't true of such a blatant empty suit, con man and political frontman for the Daley Bros.

I've been more about voting against Obama. After the debate I'm more about voting for Romney.

Obama looked unprepared and foolish. And his performance did give an insight into why he has fumbled Libya and the middle east. He seems stunned that his visions can be challenged and are most likely wrong.

People often stand that way when they are in a hurry to leave or would rather be elsewhere. Both of which seem confirmed by Obama's general attitude to the debate. I don't think it means much beyond confirming what was already obvious from the content of the debate. Is he standing "like a girl"? Not really. Both men and women stand like that from time to time.

Meade! The missing man of late! Yes, yes, it was late and I am sure my quote was off a bit, and perhaps it sounded meaner than intended. But... there you folks are at Meadehouse apparently mocking Obama for standing like a girl, which might be considered as lowbrow as finding wicked delight in a video of Obama affecting a black accent.

FWIW, my personal theory of Ann's visceral reaction to the infamous Obama tape is that a deep impression of the evil of racial discrimination was left on her by the Civil Rights era - if my math is right she was a young teen then and thus at her most impressionable - and that is the place her revulsion is coming from. It would sure be interesting to have your take, but in the interest of domestic tranquility....

Obama's feet were in sync with the rest of his body during the debate -- registering ambivalence and uncertainty.

I was shocked by his long periods of looking down with eyes seemingly closed. I've never seen a politician do that on television, much less in an important debate. It looked terrible and was a complete rookie mistake. I can't believe his coaches let that happen.

There is a great scene at the beginning of Mamet's film, Spartan, where Val Kilmer asks a special forces candidate:

You had your whole life to prepare for this moment. Why aren't you ready?

Erik Robert Nelson said...People often stand that way when they are in a hurry to leave or would rather be elsewhere. Both of which seem confirmed by Obama's general attitude to the debate. I don't think it means much beyond confirming what was already obvious from the content of the debate. Is he standing "like a girl"? Not really. Both men and women stand like that from time to time.

Traditionally, when a woman and a man kiss, the woman tends to lift her leg to show just how hot and heavy it's getting or to demonstrate how much she trusts the man to hold her up.

A somewhat Discredited Trope nowadays, and mostly crops up in parody (though the alert viewer will still sometimes see it played straight, mainly in romantic comedies), as often a man will do this to emphasize his effeminate side, or both people will do it at once.

Funny, my wife thought Romney looked like he had a cold. If Barry was sick it wasn't physical, it was mental. He was getting his ass kicked probably for the first time in his life. The media and his adoring fans have coddled him too much. His record is indefensible. He truly is without clothes.

Meh and Heh. "Ugly." War on Women? But I didn't say 'like a woman.' It was implied and stuff. Hisssss!

It is very gossip columny and cheap-shottish to take a photo and read into it like this. But, hey, the media is a cheap shotting gossip column now so game on. When the NYT stops reporting from dateline the Gawker website I'll start to worry about fairness.

"The only reason people are looking at Obama's feet is because he appears (at first blush, according to everything I'm reading*) to have lost."

There is no "appears" about it, obama definitely lost. If the commenters here and at Fox say Obama lost, there might be some doubt, but when CNN, MSNBC, and Bill Mahre also agree Obama lost, it is pretty obvious Obama lost.

I just thought he was flustered every time he spoke because there was no applause and adulation from crowds that he has become used to. You could tell by his pauses. Whenever he started speaking again after the pauses, he sort of stumbled like he didn't know quite what to say.